Pursed lip breathing can help your lungs work better, and it can help relieve your symptoms.

A person with healthy lungs uses their diaphragm when breathing. This strong muscle contracts when a person inhales to draw air into the lungs. When a person exhales, the diaphragm relaxes into a dome shape, which forces air out of the lungs.

But if you have COPD, the diaphragm is often weakened and unable to function properly. When your diaphragm relaxes, the stale air remains trapped in your lungs.

The trapped stale air leaves less room in your lungs for fresh air that contains oxygen, making you feel short of breath. Having COPD means you may not have enough air available in your lungs to exercise.

Because your lungs aren’t working normally, your body is forced to use muscles in your back and chest to breathe. This irregular muscle use can make you feel tired and cause pain.

Practice pursed lip breathing regularly to get rid of stale air in your lungs and to help your lungs and diaphragm work better to get more oxygen into your body.

How to do pursed-lip breathing

If you have COPD, you may notice that you frequently take lots of shallow breaths.

Practicing pursed-lip breathing means you need to breathe in and out in a specific way. The technique helps keep the airways in the lungs open for longer. This will help you take fewer breaths that are more efficient.

Try to relax before you practice pursed-lip breathing. First, drop your shoulders and release the tongue from the roof of your mouth to relieve tension in the body. Close your eyes the first couple of times you try pursed-lip breathing.

Inhale through your nose for two seconds.

Purse the lips. Pretend you’re about to blow out the candles on a cake.

Exhale very slowly through pursed lips for four to six seconds.

Repeat.

Try pursed-lip breathing before joining activities that cause shortness of breath, like exercising, standing up from a seat or lifting something heavy. Increasing airflow in and out of your lungs helps the body during these activities.

Practice the technique five to 10 minutes every day until it feels natural. In time, you will reap the benefits of pursed-lip breathing.